152 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [CHAP. Y. 



the market. Improvements in this direction should be 

 effected, not by large and costly gin-houses, like that 

 erected at Coimbatore, but by small establishments set 

 up in each Cotton locality. The gins should be of simple 

 construction, and should be provided at the cost of the 

 Government, until the people adopted them ; after 

 which the Government should immediately withdraw. 

 Again, it must be borne in mind that although foreign 

 substitutes for cleaning Cotton are most valuable, yet 

 the Native means of hand-picking, in a country where 

 so many women and children belong to the cultivators, 

 . will always constitute an essential element in preparing 

 Cotton wool for the Indian market. But besides this 

 improved system of culture, and improved means of 

 gathering and cleaning the crop, it is essential that the 

 Madras Government should, where there is no water 

 carriage, create good roads from the Cotton districts to 

 the several Ports, in order to give the Cotton of South- 

 ern India a chance of competing in Europe with the 

 produce of other countries. 

 221 Limits to Government agency: the Manufacturer 

 should purchase direct from the Ryot. — The Marquis 

 of Tweeddale expressed his opinion that the Govern- 

 ment could effect nothing beyond the three objects 

 already laid down ; viz., an improved system of cultiva- 

 tion, better and cheaper means of preparing the Cotton 

 for the market, and better communications to the marts 

 or Ports. But even these, he considered, would fail to 

 secure the desired end, unless the manufacturer or his 

 agent were placed in immediate communication with 

 the cultivator, and purchased direct from him. He 

 drew attention to Mr. Finnic' s statements already 

 noticed, that inferior and dirty Cotton was the more 

 profitable article to the Native dealer, and even to the 

 European merchant ; and that consequently their inter- 

 ests were not identical with those of the manufacturers 

 or of the Government. The object of the manufacturer 

 was to raise and bring into the market an article of 

 such quality, and at such a cost, as might stand in per- 

 manent competition with American Cotton. Whereas, 

 the object of the merchant and Agent was to obtain 



